Saving for a Vacation

Living in Massachusetts has a lot of perks, including a vacation destination on the east of the state.  Cape Cod or ‘the Cape’ as it’s known to the locals, is less than an hour drive from my house.  Great perk in the summer when you want to jet down to the beach for the weekend!

Winter on the Cape however is generally pretty desolate, but it’s great if you are looking to spend some time away on a budget.  Sure, you wouldn’t want to swim in the ocean but you can take advantage of some great deals the hotels and inns are offering.

Friends of my husband and I called before Christmas asking if we wanted to take a weekend trip to the Cape after the New Year  to an inn that in the summer we would never be able to afford.  With money being tight around Christmas after all the gift giving we tried to figure out the best way to get the most out of the weekend while wanting to enjoy our time and not worry as about much we were spending.

First, we decided to only buy small gifts for Christmas and make our weekend away our big present to each other.  This way we weren’t spending a lot of money on gifts and a trip.  Second, I was able to find a deal online for Friday night from an online shopping site and since I was on the mailing list for the inn I was able to get 35% off the second night.

Next, we decided to roll all of our coins.  For many years I have saved all of my coins instead of spending them, ironically when I met my husband I found out he did the same thing.  Each year we wrap the coins (yes we do it ourselves, our bank does not have a coin machine and I will not spend a percentage of the money I have saved to have a machine count them for me) and then deposit the money in our saving account.

It took us two nights and one extra trip to the bank for more coin wrappers but in the end we had just shy of $700!  For us, saving our coins has been a great way to pay for trips or put the money towards something else we have wanted but felt we shouldn’t spend the money on.

Next time you are at the store and the cashier asks if you have change, let them know they are interfering with saving for your next vacation!  How much can you save in the New Year!